


Sincerely, E - The Wedding

by hopefulminty



Series: Sincerely, E [4]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Wedding Fluff, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 21:10:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16668358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefulminty/pseuds/hopefulminty
Summary: Takes place three years afterSincerely, E - The College Years.





	Sincerely, E - The Wedding

**Author's Note:**

> Because the last few weeks have been stressful and I was feeling the need to write a bit of fluff...

****

**I**

Evan closed his laptop when he felt Connor stirring next to him.

He didn’t know why he did that. Closing his laptop at the very moment Connor woke up made him look guilty. And it wasn’t like he had something to hide. He’d been reading an article about moss.

Moss, as in the plant, as in one of the things his job required him to know about.

He blinked at the ceiling when Connor propped himself up to squint at him.

“You talking to your boyfriend again?” Connor smirked. 

“I was telling him it’s over,” Evan grinned. “For good this time.”

“Because you’re getting married this weekend?”

Evan nodded solemnly. “And you know me. I plan to take my marital vows very seriously.”

“Would one of those vows happen to involve bringing your husband breakfast in bed when he’s too lazy to get up?”

“Only if it’s a two-way street.”

“Like you’re ever too lazy to get out of bed,” Connor teased.

“No, see, that’s going to change,” Evan warned. “Once we’re married, I’m going to-”

“Are you telling me the past seven years have been a lie? That you’re secretly a sloth?”

Evan pulled himself up to give Connor a quick peck on the cheek. “Exactly.”

 

****

**II**

They weren’t getting married on Connor’s birthday like they’d always planned. They were getting married two days before his birthday because his birthday fell on a Monday that year.

That hadn’t mattered to them at first. Getting married on a Monday was just good as getting married on a Saturday, especially since they hadn’t wanted to have a big wedding. Just their families – their immediate families and possibly Connor’s aunt Jamie – and Jared because they knew there was no point in excluding him. He’d crash the ceremony if he had to.

It was going to be a small service. Evan had been good with that. He’d been okay with the idea of standing up in front of a small group of people who knew him well. He hadn’t cared where they held it. He’d semi-jokingly suggested that they could do it in the woods somewhere, but it hadn’t bothered him when Connor said they should just go to the courthouse. He could see Connor’s point. It was the practical solution and put the final nail in the coffin that contained Cynthia Murphy’s dreams of throwing a huge soiree for them. 

It should’ve been the final nail, that was. It would’ve been if Jared’s father hadn’t had a stroke that winter.

That had changed everything. It had left Jared shaken and desperate to marry Zoe as soon as possible in case one of his parents kicked the bucket. His words. His exact words in the frantic text he sent Evan two days after his father’s stroke. 

His exact words in the conversation that followed the text.

“Yeah, so, long story short, Zoe and I are finally getting married. We just set a date,” Jared had said by way of greeting.

“It’s about time,” Evan muttered.

“I heard that!” There was a rustling sound and then Jared sighed into the phone. “So, there isn’t an easy way to say this...”

Evan frowned at the phone when Jared didn’t go on. “Say what? Am I out as best man?”

“What? No! I mean, okay, yeah, technically you are, but not for the reason you’re thinking... We’re going to have a double wedding. The four of us. We’re going to have a double wedding the Saturday before Connor’s birthday.”

It was Evan’s turn to be silent. He blinked at the wall while he tried to decide if Jared was kidding. Or if the phrase ‘double wedding’ could possibly mean something other than what he was picturing. 

“He’s doing his weird mute thing,” Jared hissed.

“Told you he would,” Connor mumbled.

The sound of Connor’s voice snapped Evan out of his daze. He straightened himself up and tightened his hold on the phone. “Connor’s there? Put him on.”

Jared cackled when he heard how serious Evan sounded. “You mean you want to talk to your fiancé about this important decision he’s made without you instead of hearing about it from your best friend? Now why didn’t I think about that before I called?”

Evan squeezed his eyes shut as Jared’s laughter grew louder. He kept them shut until the rustling died down and he heard a breath that he knew had come from Connor.

“It wasn’t my idea,” Connor whispered.

Evan scratched his neck as he let out a nervous laugh. “Hey, honey, how was dinner with your family?” 

“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d come with us. Mom would’ve taken one look at your face after Zoe made the suggestion and realized how ridiculous it was.”

Evan nodded because he knew that was probably true. He wouldn’t have been able to hide his panic at the thought of being part of a double wedding and Connor’s parents had actually gotten pretty good at knowing when something was freaking him out.

The idea would’ve been dropped then and there.

“It was just supposed to be you, your parents, and Zoe,” Evan reminded him. “The four of you haven’t had dinner by yourselves in... What’d you say? Two years?”

“Yeah, well, Jared came with Zoe.”

“So I gathered. Okay, what happened? Talk me through it. Is there any hope of undoing it?”

“Not unless you’ve invented a time machine in that lab of yours. My mom was already calling caterers when we left.”

“So, this is going to be a wedding-wedding? Like an actual-”

“Straight out of a Jane Austen novel double wedding? Yeah. That’s the plan. The new plan.”

“How? I mean...” Evan forced himself to breathe. “I know Jared’s been a mess since his father’s stroke, but how did we get roped into this?”

“Because my mom decided that it wouldn’t be fair if they throw Zoe a wedding and don’t throw one for me. She thinks we’ll end up resenting them because we’ll think it suggests they value Zoe’s relationship with Jared more than my relationship with you.”

“But we don’t want a formal wedding!”

“Try telling them that!” Connor sighed into the phone. “I tried. I really did. I explained it to them as calmly as I could. You would’ve been impressed. I know Zoe was.”

“So, we’re doing this then?”

“It was Zoe’s idea to make it a double wedding. She said to tell you not to worry, that people will be so busy staring at her and her dress they’ll forget to look at you.”

Evan exhaled through his nose and leaned back in the chair. “Tell her I’m holding her to that. I want to see sequins. I want to see ruffles and lights and-”

“Lights?” Connor snorted.

“LED lights,” Evan confirmed. “And-”

“I bet we can get her to put rainbow streaks in her hair if we ask nicely.”

“Like when we were teenagers?”

“But better. Not just one color. The entire rainbow.”

“Your mom would kill her,” Evan chuckled. “I guess that would be one way to keep people from watching us though...”

 

****

**III**

Evan went home the day before the wedding. His home, his childhood home, the house where his mother still lived with Geoff.

It always felt kind of weird to go back there. He visited regularly. Or, rather, he attempted to visit regularly. If he was being honest, he knew he’d reached a point in his life where it was more common for his mother to come to him than it was for him to go her. 

He would’ve felt bad about it except her schedule wasn’t nearly as hectic as it had been when he’d been growing up. And he only lived forty minutes away. It wasn’t like she had to go that far to see him.

She was waiting by the door when he pulled up. Evan grinned when he saw that and hurried up the walk to give her a hug.

“I can’t believe it,” Heidi beamed. “My little boy-”

“Mom...”

“-is getting married tomorrow.”

Evan shook his head as he dropped his bag by the stairs. “You never thought this day would come, huh?”

Heidi gave him _the_ look, the same look she always gave when she thought he was putting himself down. “Of course, I did. I always knew there was someone out there who would love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

Evan could feel his cheeks heating up as he stared at his feet.

“But did I ever think that you’d be getting married in front of a hundred-”

“Two hundred,” Evan corrected.

“Two hundred guests?” Heidi recoiled at the thought. “Do you even know two hundred people?”

“The Murphys do.”

“Of course, they do,” Heidi sighed. “Do you want me to say something to Cynthia?”

“It’s a little late for that now, isn’t it?” Evan laughed.

“Just keep your eyes on Connor.”

“Mom...”

“I’m serious. Don’t look at the audience if you get nervous. Connor’s the reason you’re doing this and... Who am I kidding? You’re not going to notice anything else, are you?”

“You know part of my job involves giving lectures in crowded halls, don’t you?”

“That’s different,” Heidi insisted. “It’s different because you’re in your element when you do that. You know what you’re talking about and you forget all the rest and...”

Evan’s head popped up when he heard her voice crack. “Mom?”

“Sorry, sweetie, I’m just... We should go. We need to get to the rehearsal.”

“It’s okay,” Evan chuckled sheepishly. “It’s not like they can start without me.”

“That’s true,” Heidi beamed. “It’s your day. They can wait.”

Evan looked around while his mother slid her jacket on. “Where’s Geoff? Should we wait for him?”

“He’s staying at his brother’s tonight.”

Evan tilted his head curiously. “His choice or yours?”

“Mine,” Heidi grinned. She threw an arm around Evan’s shoulders. “I told him to get out. That this is my last night with my son.”

“Mom-”

“You are staying here tonight, aren’t you? You’re coming home with me after the rehearsal? Henry’s not planning another bachelor party, is he?”

“No, no,” Evan said firmly. “Definitely not.”

Jared’s brother had kidnapped the two of them and taken them on what he’d thought would be a fun night out with his friends. It would’ve been a fun night for some of the guys if it had gone according to plan. Not Evan though. He didn’t think that kind of thing would ever be his scene. He hated to admit it, but he’d actually been quite relieved when they had to cut the night short to take Henry to the emergency room after he tripped and hit his head on a pool table. 

And that had been that. Jared had made it as clear as he possibly could that the one attempt had been enough and that Henry really didn’t need to try again.

“And you aren’t going to the dinner the Murphys are hosting?”

Evan shook his head. “No. That’s just for their family. Jared isn’t going either.”

“Good,” Heidi beamed. “Because I have the whole night planned out. I’m thinking we can order pizza and get in at least one game of Monopoly before...”

Evan bit his lip when his mother breathed in sharply. “Mom-”

“I’m sorry, sweetie, it’s just... You’re leaving. You’re...”

“I moved out years ago.”

“I know, but-”

“I’ll visit. Connor will be with me sometimes, but that’s nothing new. He-”

“Comes here almost as often as you do, I know. Which reminds me, I found his beanie next to your bed. The one he was looking for.”

“The navy one?”

Heidi nodded. She looked at Evan sadly. “I stuck it in one of your drawers. I can go get it if you think he’ll want it right away.”

“We’re late enough as it is. Connor can get it the next time he comes over.”

Evan rolled his eyes when he saw his mother’s expression. “Seriously, Mom, it’s going to be okay. I’m getting married. I’m not shipping off to war. And it’s not like we’re moving. We might look for a bigger place when our lease is up, but we’re not going to go that far. So, you don’t have to worry. Nothing’s going to change. Nothing about our relationship-” He gestured between the two of them. “-is going to change.”

“It is though. You may not realize it now, but...”

Evan looked at her in alarm. “Are you going to cry?”

It was his mother’s turn to roll her eyes. “If you think this is bad, just wait until tomorrow.”

 

****

**IV**

Evan wouldn’t say he was a wedding expert, but he’d been involved in his share of them. He was the ring bearer when his father married Lisa. He’d walked his mother down the aisle when she married Geoff. And that spring, he’d been a groomsman in his friend Mark’s wedding.

None of those weddings had prepared him for his own though. None of them had given him any idea how complicated weddings could be.

He knew Zoe would smack him if she heard him say that. 

He’d had almost nothing to do with the planning process. It was better that way. Better for him at least. 

Connor and Jared had stayed out of it too for the most part. Zoe had grumbled about that. She’d sent all three of them countless texts complaining about how it wasn’t fair that she was the only one helping her mother.

Connor had eventually given in and started helping out here and there. Which had made him grumble about how it was all Evan’s fault that there were people who actually cared about watching him get married.

“This isn’t what I had in mind when I said we should get married,” Connor groaned when he came home one day. 

“You want to elope?” Evan suggested. “Or it’s still early. We could just go to the courthouse and-”

“Get it over with?” Connor huffed. 

“Yeah,” Evan shrugged.

“My mom would kill us. _Your_ mom would kill us. Zoe would hire an assassin to take us out so she could still get married.”

“So, that’s a no then?”

Connor nodded and moaned into his hands.

 

Evan knew that Connor’s parents meant well. He knew that, despite what Connor claimed, they actually were trying to put together an event that celebrated their children and the partners they’d chosen.

He tried to keep that in mind every time he heard something that made him feel like he was going to pass out. 

They were expecting over two hundred people to attend the wedding? That was okay. Evan had spoken in front of larger crowds than that.

The service was going to be performed by a priest and a rabbi? That was considerate of the Murphys and he was glad he’d been told early on. It gave him six months to help Jared get all the ‘a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar’ jokes out of his system.

They each had to find five people to be in their wedding party? That one was a bit trickier. 

Not for Evan though. He’d had a surprisingly easy time with it. He filled two of the spots right away by recruiting Mark and Elijah, his friends from college. He then asked his half-siblings, Liam and Ella, and his work husband/mentor, Bernie.

He knew his party probably wasn’t the picture-perfect ensemble Connor’s parents would have liked. Mark and Elijah cleaned up all right, but the others...

Liam was definitely going through an awkward teenage stage. So awkward that it was painful, in a familiar way, for Evan to watch. Ella wasn’t nearly as awkward, but she was going to stick out simply by being the youngest person in the wedding.

And Bernie was... He was one of the nicest people Evan had ever met. He had taken Evan under his wing immediately and helped him countless times. Connor had tried (not very successfully) to mask his jealousy until he actually met Bernie. 

Evan had felt like laughing when he saw the exact moment Connor realized he really didn’t need to worry about the fact that his boyfriend wouldn’t stop talking about his co-worker. Bernie was nice as could be, but he was happily married to a lovely woman and had four adorable children. And he kind of looked like Jerry from _Parks and Rec_.

Which really didn’t matter to Evan, but he knew it was going to ensure that his wedding party was the strangest one up there.

Or so he’d thought until he learned who Connor and Jared had found to be in theirs.

It turned out that Zoe was the only one who was going to have a traditional-looking entourage. Which wasn’t really a surprise since she’d argued with Connor until they compromised by deciding to have five people each. 

If Zoe had had her way, they each would’ve had to find ten people to stand up with them.

Zoe had settled on three of her high school friends (Nicole, Maya, and Jenny), her bandmate/current best friend (Jocelyn), and her favorite cousin (Kelsey). 

Kelsey’s inclusion had complicated things for Connor because it made his family pressure him into picking her brother, Josh. 

Which had made things pretty miserable for everyone for quite a while and had almost resulted in Connor kidnapping Evan and taking him to Vegas because he couldn’t handle the stress.

Luckily, Evan had realized what was going on before they reached the airport and convinced Connor to turn around and go home.

Connor asked Josh in the end. He asked him because he knew Evan was desperate for him to keep the peace.

So, he asked Josh, three of his college friends (Asia, Shawn, and Cody), and a friend from grad school (Omar). 

Evan still wasn’t sure who was in Jared’s group. He knew Henry was in it and he was pretty sure Jared had asked his old roommate, Miles. And there was a good chance that Jared’s cousin Ian would be up there. But other than that...

Evan was sort of hoping Jared wasn’t kidding about hiring two male strippers to round out his party. 

That would definitely keep people from paying attention to him.

 

****

**V**

Evan didn’t know all the details about the wedding, but he knew enough to know it wasn’t what they’d pictured when they decided to get married.

That really was the best way to describe it. They’d decided to get married. No one had proposed, not officially anyway. It had just been a conversation. 

Which really wasn’t that surprising because it was something that had come up periodically since their senior year of college. 

Since their junior year, if they counted the time Evan got drunk and insisted they get married on Connor’s birthday.

Evan knew Connor did, but he chose not to take that seriously for obvious reasons. The primary one being that he didn’t remember the incident in question and was half-convinced that Connor had made it up. 

Especially since his supposed proposal got more elaborate every time Connor told the story.

 

Connor had brought up the idea of getting married the night they finally decided to make it official.

It was late and they were tired and Evan hadn’t immediately understood what Connor was referring to when he said they should “just go ahead and do it.”

“Again?” Evan laughed. “Um, okay, sure. I’m going to need a minute, but-”

“Not _that_ ,” Connor retorted. “Well, maybe that. Later. I meant we should...”

“Should what?”

Connor pulled himself up so he could stare down at Evan. “I was subbing at Lakeview again today.”

“I know,” Evan nodded. “You said the seventh graders were a nightmare.”

“Right. Yeah. They were.” Connor took a breath and stared at the ceiling above their bed. “I ate lunch in the faculty lounge with a couple of the other teachers and they started grilling me about my personal life.”

Evan pulled himself up too when Connor didn’t go on. “And you told them about me?”

“I started to, but it didn’t feel right.”

Evan’s heart went still in his chest. “It... What? What do you mean it didn’t feel right?”

“It doesn’t feel right to call you my boyfriend anymore,” Connor said quickly. He bumped Evan’s shoulder with his own. “Breathe.”

Evan instantly took a breath. It wheezed out of him.

“Did you really think I was about to dump you?”

“No,” Evan sputtered. “I mean, not really, but...”

“You thought I was going to break up with you right after we...” Connor chuckled as he gestured at their covers. “You think that little of me?”

Evan’s mouth opened and closed several times before he realized Connor was joking. Mostly joking. He laughed and muttered that Connor needed to be more careful about the words he chose to use.

“Okay,” Connor agreed solemnly. “How’s this for careful? It doesn’t feel right to call you my boyfriend because you’re so much more than that.”

Evan glanced at him knowingly. “You heard an eleven-year-old refer to someone as her boyfriend today, didn’t you?”

Connor cringed at the thought. “Yeah, but-”

“So, what do you want to call me then? Your partner? Your...” Evan chewed his lip when he realized the next word out of his mouth was going to be ‘fiancé.’

Because that was too presumptuous. They’d talked about getting married, but only in a vague, maybe someday kind of way.

“Husband. I want to be able to call you my husband.”

“Husband? So-”

“I think we should just go ahead and do it. And by it, I mean get married.” 

Evan didn’t say anything for a moment. When he did, his voice was barely above a whisper. “You’re serious?”

“It’s what we’ve been talking about, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but-”

“You don’t want to?”

“I do. I mean, I think I-”

“You think you do?” Connor’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why the hesitation? Is it because I-”

“No, it’s nothing to do with you! I’m not hesitating. I’m processing. I’m-”

“I know I haven’t followed the same career path as you. I know I’m not... My job at YANA is steady though. I know it doesn’t pay well, but I like it and the substitute teaching thing’s becoming more frequent. They even approached me about possibly taking a long-term sub job at Lakeview. One of the English teachers is going out on maternity leave next month and they asked if I’d be interested in filling in until she returns. If she returns. She might end up staying home with her kid.”

“Really?” Evan grinned. “That’d be amazing. You’d-”

“Have a steady job?”

“A reason to put pants on every day,” Evan grinned. “Which would be amazing because, I gotta tell you, it kills me sometimes that I have to get dressed for work while you get to sit around in your pajamas and write articles.”

“And answer kids’ questions, but I see your point.”

Connor took a breath and tapped his chin thoughtfully. “And I have that trust fund I got when I turned 25. The trust fund that I haven’t even touched yet. So, it’s not like I can’t carry my weight financially.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

“Well, you should be. You’ve seen my paychecks from YANA.”

“We’re doing all right as far as all that goes.”

“Eh,” Connor shrugged. “At least we haven’t had to go beg my parents for rent money in a while.”

“We haven’t had to go to them in over a year, not since I got that raise.”

Connor exhaled loudly and stretched his arms backwards to drum his fingers along the headboard. He managed to stay silent for almost a minute before saying, “So? Are you still processing or...”

“Yeah, okay,” Evan nodded. “Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”

 

****

**VI**

The rehearsal was even more chaotic than Evan had expected.

Organizing twenty bridesmaids and groomsmen, pacifying three sets of parents, and establishing a rhythm that everyone could follow, one that ensured the wedding wouldn’t last all night, was exhausting.

So exhausting that it took Evan almost an hour to notice several things that he probably should’ve noticed right away.

1\. Asia had dyed her hair every color of the rainbow. Evan snorted when he saw that. He caught Connor’s eye and grinned. His grin faded slightly when he saw how Connor’s parents kept eyeing Asia, but he decided not to worry about it. Asia was one of the few people he knew who could pull that look off without looking like a clown. Or like she was going to a rave.

2\. Josh was being his usual self, but Connor wasn’t his target that day. He kept following Zoe around and pestering her about the baby he was convinced she was having. It got to the point where Evan had to intervene before Connor shoved Josh into one of the flower arrangements.

3\. Henry was coping with the fact that his younger brother was getting married before him by hitting on all the bridesmaids, except Ella. Though Jared swore he heard his brother ask Ella how old she was. Evan ended up having to help Connor pull Asia away before she kneed Henry in the groin.

4\. Liam was on the verge of having a full-on panic attack. Evan felt sick when he realized that. He, of all people, should’ve picked up on that immediately. He ended up pulling Liam to the side and telling him he didn’t have to do this if he didn’t want to. That he could sit with his parents if he wasn’t comfortable standing up in front of the guests. Liam had nodded and insisted he was okay, but Evan had a feeling his wedding party might be down to four people. Possibly three if Ella decided to follow her brother into the audience.

5\. Jared didn’t hire a pair of male strippers to round out his wedding party. He asked one of his co-workers and Alana Beck. Evan did a double take when he noticed that. He did a double take and rubbed his eyes like he was seeing things. He hadn’t seen Alana in person in years. He’d sort of kept up with her on Facebook and Instagram, but that was it. Last he’d heard, she was living in New York with her girlfriend and a tank of goldfish. 

He made a beeline for Alana as soon as the wedding coordinator announced that they were taking another break. Her face lit up when she spotted him and she ran forward to meet him halfway.

“Evan!” Alana cooed. She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. “Congratulations! Big day tomorrow, huh?”

“Really big,” Evan grinned. He pulled back to study her when she let go. “You look good.”

“Thanks,” Alana beamed.

Evan scratched his neck and glanced around uncertainly. “So, uh, I didn’t realize you and Jared were that close.”

“We’re not,” Alana laughed. She stepped forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I just got in a couple days ago. I’m home for a visit. I need to clear my head. Bad break-up...”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. “Sorry.”

Alana shrugged. “Eh, it’s cool. Well, not cool, but it will be. Her loss.”

“Definitely,” Evan agreed.

“So, I was at the store with my mom and I ran into Jared in the produce section.”

“And he asked you to be in his wedding?” Evan chuckled disbelievingly. 

“Out of nowhere. He just blurted it out.”

“That’s Jared...”

Alana shrugged. “I said yes because I figured he must be truly desperate to do that three days before he’s supposed to get married. And it’s not like I have anything better to do this weekend.”

“So, how long are you in town?”

“I’m not sure yet. The apartment’s in Michelle’s name, so I’ve been couch-surfing since we broke up. I might move back here for a bit, actually. My job sucks and I’m kind of itching for a change.”

“Change can be a good thing.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself.”

Evan glanced at her slyly. “You know Tracy’s still in town, don’t you? I saw her at the farmer’s market a couple months ago.”

“I know,” Alana nodded. “We’ve been talking a lot lately. She told me I can move in with her if I need to.”

Evan raised his eyebrows, but decided not to press when she didn’t go on. He turned to face the entrance when he heard the wedding coordinator calling for the bride, the grooms, and their parents to come see her.

He gestured at the door. “I should...”

“Don’t trip!” Alana called after him.

Evan shook his head as he tried to push that idea out of his head. 

He darted through the group until he reached his mother’s side. He nodded along while the planner explained how the processional was going to work. 

He felt his mother tensing up next to him and turned to squint at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Where’s your father?” Heidi asked shortly. “I haven’t seen him since we got here.”

“He left. He went to lunch with-”

“He left?” Heidi shook her head angrily. “Doesn’t he know we have to practice this?”

“Practice...” Evan’s eyes widened when he realized he’d failed to inform his mother of one crucial wedding detail. “Dad’s not in this, Mom.”

“What do you mean he’s not in this? You all asked your parents to walk you down the aisle. He’s one of your parents. Why-”

“I only asked you,” Evan said quietly. 

Heidi froze in a way that made it easy for Evan to imagine the wheels spinning inside her head.

“It just made sense, you know?” Evan shrugged. “Everyone else is only walking up with one parent. Connor’s going with his mom, Zoe’s with her dad, Jared’s only walking with his mom because his dad can’t walk that far right now. It would look weird if I was the only one with a parent on each arm and you know... You’re my primary parent, the only parent I’ve ever really needed, the only parent whose blessing actually matters to me.”

Heidi stared at him a moment before looking away. “You really are determined to make me cry today, aren’t you?” 

 

****

**VII**

Evan almost choked on his juice when he saw that Zoe was calling him on the morning of the wedding.

He ducked his head to avoid his mother’s eye and answered the phone so breathlessly that he wasn’t sure an actual word had come out.

This was it. He was sure this was _the_ call. The call that had been prominently featured in all his nightmares that night.

Connor had run away. He’d disappeared and no one knew where he’d gone.

“Evan, hey,” Zoe said quickly. “I have a message from Connor.”

Evan blinked as he heard her shush the people laughing in the background.

“Sorry,” Zoe giggled. “It’s crazy over here. We’re all getting ready to go do Pilates with my mom... What was I saying?”

“You have a message from Connor?”

“Oh, yeah. He asked me to call you since we’re all going incommunicado until the ceremony.”

Evan felt stupid as soon as he realized what this was. Zoe was calling him because Connor wasn’t supposed to call him or text him or contact him in any way. 

That was one of the things the four of them had agreed on. After the rehearsal, they weren’t supposed to contact their future spouse until the wedding.

It had sounded okay when it had been a distant thought, but Evan was regretting it now. Twenty-seven hours without talking to Connor at all? They hadn’t gone that long without talking or texting or emailing since the summer Connor went abroad with Zoe.

He was starting to think Jared was probably right when he called them the most adorable, co-dependent couple he’d ever known.

Evan tried not to worry about whether that was a good thing as he finally released the breath he’d been holding. “Okay?”

“He said to tell you that starting tonight you are legally obligated to attend all our family functions.”

Evan let out a startled laugh. “Was the dinner that bad?”

“Oh my God, so Josh spent the whole night hounding me about whether or not I’m pregnant, which...”

Evan stirred his cereal around the bowl while he half-listened to Zoe’s tale. 

He waved his mother away when she tried to pour him a cup of coffee. He knew he would probably need caffeine later, but he was jittery enough that morning without adding coffee to his system.

“Do you have any messages for Connor?” Zoe asked when she finished recapping her night. “I’ve decided not to view this as you two breaking our pact, by the way.”

There was a rustling noise, followed by the sound of something being smacked.

“Pathetic, the both of you,” Zoe laughed mercilessly. “Connor’s over here, claiming he’s looking for a... What was it? A button? A button that just happened to get flicked my way while I’m talking to Evan? Are you really that desperate to hear his voice? Don’t answer that. Either of you. No talking until Connor moves at least five feet away from me.” 

Evan swallowed his smile while he waited for Zoe to give him the all clear.

“Okay, Evan, your message please?”

Evan stared at the ceiling and tried to think of something to say. Something clever. Something that would reassure Connor that this day wouldn’t be a total disaster. Something that would make them both feel better.

Something that he wouldn’t be embarrassed to communicate through Zoe.

“Tell him I’m not putting the family function thing in my vows.”

 

****

**VIII**

The problem with getting married in the early evening was that it meant Evan had the entire day to kill.

It didn’t take him long to think that the Murphys had the right idea. The thought of following the rigorous schedule that Connor’s mom had set for the day had sounded horrifying when Evan first heard it, but he was starting to think it was better than sitting around the house and watching tv with his mom.

“Do you want to play Monopoly again?” Heidi offered.

Evan shook his head as he continued to hit the channel button like the odds of finding something he wanted to watch increased every time he smashed it with his thumb.

“Go back!” Heidi exclaimed excitedly. “Wasn’t that one of the Harry Potter movies?”

Evan shrugged because it didn’t matter. Harry Potter made him think of Connor and thinking about Connor made him think about the fact that he couldn’t talk to Connor because they were about to get married.

In front of two hundred people.

That part of the day was finally sinking in. He felt like someone had attached an anchor to his stomach.

Heidi sighed as she grabbed the remote from him. “All right, that’s enough of that. You need to go upstairs and get dressed.”

“Get dressed? But we don’t have to leave for-”

“Who said anything about leaving? You’re not sitting in here in your pajamas all day though. You’ll make yourself crazy.”

Heidi grinned as she checked her phone. “And, besides, your dad’s on his way.”

“Here?” Evan blinked. “He’s coming here? Are you, uh... Are you going somewhere?”

Heidi rolled her eyes. “Contrary to what you seem to believe, your father and I are capable of being in the same room without killing each other.”

She inhaled sharply when he continued to stare. “For short periods of time... For extended periods on our son’s wedding day.”

Evan nodded like he wasn’t sure if he believed her.

Heidi put a hand on her hip while she studied him. She reached under the coffee table without breaking her stare and pulled out a binder. 

Evan felt numb when he saw it. The numbness only increased when she started to laugh.

“You made me promise to show this to you again before you got married.”

“I did not!” Evan sputtered. “I...”

His face went red at the memory of the first time he’d seen that thing. He’d been twelve years old when she first showed him the sex binder. Twelve years old and horrified that his mother expected him to read the things she’d printed for him.

Horrified didn’t begin to cover it.

He’d mumbled a vague acknowledgement when she told him it would be on the shelf if he ever wanted to look through it and...

And then he’d said that he didn’t need it because he wouldn’t be getting married for a really long time.

He flinched when he remembered those words. He didn’t know why he’d said them. He’d probably thought it was what she wanted to hear.

His mother’s eyes were twinkling when he finally worked up the nerve to meet her stare. She thought this was funny. She thought she was teasing him, distracting him.

That’s what this was. A distraction to keep him from thinking about the wedding for a few minutes.

He chuckled and took the binder from her when the doorbell rang. He laid it on the table the second she stood up to let his father in.

He regretted his decision not to hide the book when his father started flipping through it as soon as he sat down. 

“What’s this?” Dan asked brightly. His smile wavered when Heidi explained what it was.

Evan stared at his hands when his father reached the back of the binder. The look on his father’s face was priceless. Everything about it screamed the fact that his father was just learning how certain things worked.

Evan pulled himself to his feet and muttered something about getting dressed. At least that was what he meant to mutter. He wasn’t sure if it came out in words.

“You did this for him?” Dan asked incredulously. He blinked at Heidi while he closed the binder. “This is amazing.”

Heidi shrugged good-naturedly. “I wanted him to have something that would answer his questions.”

Dan nodded. “You mind sending me a copy of this? Two copies, actually. Liam and Ella are at that age and there’s no way they’ll want to share.”

“I might have to change some things for Ella, but sure. I can do that.”

Evan opened his mouth to say that he thought he spoke for his half-siblings when he said they did not want to grow up with a sex binder – two sex binders – in their house. He changed his mind when he saw the way his father was looking at him.

“I was supposed to give you the talk, wasn’t I?” Dan sighed. “Among other things. I missed it all.”

Evan kept his eyes down until he felt his father squeeze his shoulder.

“So, what’re we doing this afternoon? Anyone up for bowling?”

Evan tilted his head at his father. “Bowling?”

“It’s what I did before I got married. Both times.”

Heidi shook her head at him. “He showed up to our wedding drunk and swearing about his score. That would’ve been a sign right then and there, but I didn’t hear about it until later. Much later.”

Evan’s worry quickly disappeared when he saw that his parents were grinning at each other. It was enough to make him think there was more to that story.

He didn’t ask. He was just relieved to see there was a chance neither of his parents would be ending the day in a body bag. 

“Do I want to go bowling with my parents on my wedding day?” Evan looked between them and shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

 

****

**IX**

The wedding was being held at the local arboretum.

It was a popular wedding spot and a beautiful location, but Evan knew the Murphys had chosen it for his sake. 

The ceremony was going to be held in the main building while the reception would be taking place in a tent outside.

There were two sets of rooms that had been reserved for the four wedding parties to get dressed in. Connor and Zoe were on one side of the hall with their friends while Evan and Jared were on the other with theirs.

Evan had just finished tying his tie when he heard the door click shut behind him. He wasn’t at all surprised to see Jared standing there. 

“So, what are we after tonight?” Jared whispered urgently.

Evan’s nose wrinkled as he tried to grasp Jared’s meaning. “What?”

“What’re we? The two of us, I mean? Are we brothers-in-law?”

“I don’t know,” Evan shrugged. “Maybe? Kind of?”

“If Zoe and I have a kid, you would be its uncle, right?”

“Don’t ever let Zoe know you referred to your prospective kid as an it,” Evan laughed.

“You know what I mean...”

Evan chewed his lip and nodded. “I’d be their mother’s brother’s husband, so that would make me Uncle Evan, right?”

“That’s what I thought,” Jared sighed. “Okay, we’re going to have to strategize about this when the time comes.”

“Strategize about what?”

“You have to become their favorite uncle,” Jared hissed.

“What? Why?”

“Because Henry will tell the kid that it’s a good idea to jump off the roof with a pair of paper mâché wings strapped to their arms and I’ll fear for my life if the kid decides Connor’s their favorite uncle.”

“Connor isn’t going to teach your kid to kill you in your sleep,” Evan said knowingly.

“Not on purpose, maybe, but...”

“How about this then?” Evan grinned. “I promise I will be the cool uncle who loads your kids up with sugar before dropping them off. And I’ll keep the tree talk to a minimum unless they express an early interest in nature.”

“Oh, God,” Jared groaned. “You’re going to try to get my kid’s first word to be ‘tree,’ aren’t you?”

“Not the first, necessarily. One of the first fifty though.” Evan nodded to himself. “Definitely one of the first fifty.”

 

****

**X**

The ceremony was a blur for Evan, but then he’d expected it to be.

Everything happened so fast and seemed to take so long and...

He was just glad it was happening. Finally happening. 

He tried to keep his mind focused and be present for all of it, but it was hard. 

He was glad they hadn’t decided to write their own vows. They’d talked about it and Connor had seemed interested and Jared had been excited at the idea, but the idea of writing and delivering an emotional speech in front of two hundred people had terrified Evan and Jared’s excitement was enough to turn Zoe off the idea. 

In the end, Connor had broken the tie by saying he wasn’t going to vote for something that would make the day uncomfortable for Evan.

Which had made Jared stick a finger in his mouth and pretend to gag. And promise/threaten to write his vows anyway and leave them on Zoe’s pillow after the ceremony.

Evan was glad he would (hopefully) never learn what was in them.

He was definitely glad the wedding was fairly traditional because he didn’t think he could’ve managed to keep up with something that required him to think. His heart raced the whole time and his neck felt like it was prickling every time he looked out into the audience. He was glad he simply had to follow the instructions that the officiants gave.

He would hear stories later about the things he hadn’t noticed. About how his mother had held it together until the very end. About how Liam had stayed remarkably calm throughout the entire ceremony while Ella had panicked and gone to sit with her parents halfway through. About how Henry had bawled through the whole thing and tried to wipe his nose on the back of Jared’s suit. About how Alana had ended up restraining Henry so that he couldn’t slam into his brother every time he was overwhelmed with emotion. About how Asia had elbowed Connor when Evan was walking up the aisle with his mother and hissed, “There he is! There’s your husband!”

Evan hadn’t heard Asia’s announcement, but he had seen the look on Connor’s face when their eyes met for the first time that day. He had seen it and felt it and knew his face was reflecting it.

It was enough to make him glad they had decided to go the actual wedding-wedding route.

 

****

**XI**

They were pulled into a whirlwind of activity as soon as the ceremony was over.

First, there were pictures. Dozens and dozens of pictures of the four of them and their families and their wedding parties in every combination Evan could imagine.

He was glad when the waiters popped in with a plate of hors d'oeuvres because the combination of the lights and the adrenaline and the relief that he was finally, actually married to Connor made him feel light-headed with hunger.

After the pictures, they made their way to the tent and went through what felt like a never-ending stream of announcements and entrances.

And then it was time for the first dance. They’d decided to do a shared first dance because they didn’t think the guests would be patient enough to sit through two songs.

At least that was what Evan thought until Connor grinned and said, “You know why we’re invading Zoe and Jared’s dance, don’t you?”

Evan tilted his head curiously. “Because we thought the guests would revolt if we made them stand around, waiting to eat, longer than was really necessary?”

“Because I told Zoe our first dance was going to be to _Do the Hippogriff_.”

Evan let out a startled laugh. “You were planning to make me jump around the dance floor like an idiot?”

“I was planning to make both of us jump around the dance floor like idiots. I figured you’d need something to make you forget about being nervous and I’d need to blow off steam by this point.”

“Okay... That’s, uh, that’s probably fair... And it definitely would’ve been more interesting than this,” Evan admitted. The song they were dancing to was a slow, folksy number that had been written and recorded by Zoe’s bandmates. “So, what happened? Zoe didn’t approve?”

“That was the moment she decided to go all bridezilla on us and take full control of the music selections.”

“I did not!” Zoe hissed as she made Jared spin her towards them. “I just thought-”

“That your friends-”

Evan caught Connor’s eye and shook his head. The song was ending. It was winding down and the songwriters were standing close enough to the edge of the crowd that they would hear whatever Connor said. 

“-wrote a wonderful song for our first dance,” Connor finished in a tone that was so earnest that Evan almost believed him.

“Nice save,” Evan muttered as they made their way off the dance floor. He kept his head down to avoid the stares of the guests who were applauding and cheering wildly.

“Come on,” Connor whispered. “Let’s go eat some of that steak my dad keeps talking about.”

 

They didn’t get a chance to eat much of their dinner. Evan knew he shouldn’t be surprised and he wasn’t, not really anyway, but he was disappointed. 

It was hard to eat when people kept coming up to talk to them. It was even harder when they remembered that they were supposed to make the rounds and talk to everyone.

At least, he didn’t have to go through that part alone. He stuck to Connor’s side and was able to get away with smiling and nodding and mumbling a vague greeting whenever they stopped at a table filled with people he didn’t recognize.

The speeches started as soon as they sat back down.

Larry Murphy went first. His speech was eloquent and humorous and only slightly embarrassing for his children to hear. He talked about their childhoods and paused for a moment to say that he was going to skip ahead a few years until the day Connor met Evan. That comment made the guests laugh, though Evan suspected the majority of them didn’t know exactly what he was referring to.

Larry went on to talk about how the fact that his children had been with their respective partners for so long made him feel like he’d watched Evan and Jared grow up too. He concluded his speech by officially welcoming them into his family and asking all the guests to raise their glasses and do the same.

He then opened the floor up to anyone who wished to make a speech. Evan heard Jared groan from the table next to him when Henry jumped up and staggered forward.

Evan leaned over and nudged Jared. “Is he drunk already?” 

Jared groaned again and allowed his head to fall into his hands.

Evan glanced over his shoulder when he sensed someone creeping up behind them. He raised his eyebrows at Alana when he saw her standing there.

“I realized before I left for the ceremony that I hadn’t gotten you guys a gift,” Alana murmured.

“You don’t have to get us a gift,” Evan whispered. 

And he meant it. The fact that Alana was willing to be a last-minute bridesmaid for a guy she wasn’t friends with, a guy who she’d gotten into a prank war with during their last month of high school, was more than enough.

Alana nodded at Henry. “I’m keeping an eye on that one.”

“On Henry?”

“I have older siblings. I know how to keep them under control.”

Alana leapt forward before Evan could ask what she meant. She put an arm around Henry (who was gesturing at Jared and shouting something that sounded like “Jare Bear” over and over) and carefully maneuvered him away from the microphone.

The room fell silent for a moment until Asia sighed and stood up. She grabbed the microphone and launched into a speech about how she’d been jealous of Connor when she first met him. She’d been jealous because she’d felt like he had it all figured out. Not his life, not his whole life, but his love life. She wasn’t jealous because she’d wanted to be with Evan (“Even though he is a cutie,” Asia cooed before blowing a kiss in Evan’s direction). She was jealous because Connor and Evan were the first couple she’d met that were her age and acted like they’d been married for fifty years. That joke made the audience laugh so loudly that Asia puffed up and went on to tell a series of stories about all the times she’d seen the two of them had act like an old, married couple.

Zoe’s high school friends took the stage after Asia sat down. They sang a song to the tune of _Single Ladies_ about their friendship with Zoe and how happy they were that she wasn’t marrying one of the losers she’d dated before Jared. 

Mark and Elijah stood up next to give a brief speech about how they were glad that Connor liked Harry Potter or they wouldn’t have been able to support Evan’s decision to marry him. They laughed at that statement and said they were joking... sort of. 

An awkward silence took over the room after they sat down as everyone glanced at each other and silently tried to figure out if the speeches were over. Larry stood up again when it became clear that no one else was coming forward. He thanked the guests for coming and announced that the dance floor would be open for business in a few short minutes.

Evan looked at his plate and sighed. He didn’t have to look at the others’ plates to know he wasn’t the only one who’d barely eaten a thing. He bit his lip to keep from laughing when he heard Zoe hiss at Jared to get up and stop trying to swallow his chicken whole.

“My husband, ladies and gentlemen...” Zoe muttered under her breath.

Evan wrinkled his nose when he saw that Connor was licking his butter knife. He leaned over to whisper in Zoe’s ear. “I know what you mean...”

 

The first official dance of the night was the parent-child dance. They’d decided to do one parent-child dance, not four, because four dances sounded excessively complicated and time-consuming to organize.

To keep things simple, they’d planned to have the four of them dance with the parent that walked them down the aisle.

Evan was happy about that because he had a feeling it would be the only real time he’d get to spend with his mom that night. 

“You’re welcome,” Heidi said as the band started to play _What a Wonderful World_.

“For what?” Evan frowned.

“For not giving a speech. You can thank Geoff for that actually. He stole my purse so I couldn’t pass around your baby pictures.”

“You brought my baby pictures with you?” Evan choked out.

“Only a few! Five, I think. You’re only naked in one of them.”

Evan shook his head as he tried to figure out if she was kidding. He was pretty sure she wasn’t, not totally anyway. “Thank Geoff for me.”

“I will,” Heidi beamed. She blinked as she studied his face. “You look happy. You’re happy, aren’t you?”

“I’m happy,” Evan confirmed.

“Really happy? Deliriously happy?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been deliriously happy.”

“Me neither,” Heidi admitted. “I’m happy you’re happy though.”

“Me too.” Evan glanced over his shoulder when he saw his mother craning her neck to look at something. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that the Murphys had switched partners. Connor was dancing with his dad while Zoe danced with her mom.

And they were smiling. All four of them were smiling. Genuinely smiling, not in a scary Stepford way.

“Cynthia and I were talking recently,” Heidi said softly. “She wouldn’t shut up about you. She kept going on about how you gave her her son back, how you gave her her family back.”

Evan didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything. He sighed and leaned down to rest his head on his mother’s shoulder until the song ended. He reluctantly pulled himself up to applaud the band before they went into their next song, an upbeat one that he only vaguely recognized.

He followed his mother off the dance floor because there was no way he was sticking around for that. He started to follow her to her table, but he was ambushed before he got very far.

And then it was all over. His night very quickly turned into a blur of conversations and introductions and congratulations. Evan wasn’t sure how long he’d been on his own when Zoe found him, but he was so relieved to see her that he practically tackled her to the ground.

“Hey, Aunt Nadine,” Zoe drawled as she threw an arm around Evan. “Do you mind if I borrow Evan? I haven’t gotten to dance with him yet.”

Zoe didn’t bother waiting for an answer. She flashed her aunt a quick grin before she started prodding Evan towards the dance floor.

“Thanks,” Evan breathed. 

“You looked trapped,” Zoe observed. She giggled as she tripped over her feet. She leaned against him while she steadied herself.

“I was. It was like I was stuck in a never-ending spiral of small talk and-”

“Yeah,” Zoe nodded knowingly. “I know the feeling.”

Evan eyed the glass in her hand. The glass that she was waving around enthusiastically while she talked.

Zoe smirked when she followed his gaze. “I’ve decided that the only way to dispel the pregnancy rumors is to get completely hammered tonight.” 

Evan nodded slowly. “So, you’re drunk?”

“Really drunk,” Zoe confirmed. She downed the rest of her drink and handed it to a passing waiter. 

Evan stared at her a second before shaking his head. “No, you’re not. You’re totally sober.”

Zoe’s eyes widened as she glanced around. She grabbed his arm again and steered him back off the dance floor.

“I am not,” Zoe insisted. “I’ve been drinking all night. I’m-”

“Drunk Zoe wouldn’t have been able to use the word ‘dispel’ correctly. Drunk Zoe can’t even-” His voice became muffled when Zoe slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Lobby now,” Zoe hissed.

Evan kept his head down as he hurried after her. He kept his head down until he spotted her standing in the alcove by the fireplace alone.

“You’re pregnant?” Evan guessed. “You’re actually pregnant? Josh was-”

“Josh claims he has the ability to look at a woman and instantly know if she’s with child,” Zoe sighed. “And...”

She grabbed at her hair and looked around nervously. “And apparently he was right. In my case at least.”

“Wow,” Evan gasped. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly while he tried to wrap his mind around that. “That’s... Does Jared know?”

“Of course, he knows,” Zoe huffed. “Do you think I’d wait until after we were married to tell him that?”

Zoe closed her eyes and took a breath. “Don’t answer that.”

“Do your parents know?”

“I think my mom does,” Zoe whispered. “She heard me talking to the Pilates instructor before our class this morning. She heard me ask about whether pregnant women need to do different exercises than non-pregnant women.”

“She didn’t say anything?”

“She didn’t get a chance. We were busy all day and we were never alone for more than a minute... I was going to tell my parents last night, but then Josh started doing his thing and I couldn’t. It made me feel like everyone, including my parents, will just assume that Jared and I are only getting married because of the baby.”

Zoe patted her stomach. “I’m not showing, am I? The doctor thinks I’m only a month along.”

“You’re not showing,” Evan assured her. He tried to smile when she looked at him uncertainly. “Trust me. That dress fits you like a glove.”

Zoe sighed and leaned against the wall. “Okay. Good.”

“Hey, Zoe,” Evan murmured. “You guys are going to be amazing parents. You know that, right?”

For a second, Evan worried that he’d said the wrong thing. He swallowed dryly when he saw that her eyes were tearing up. He took a step backwards and leaned against the mantel. He wasn’t expecting it at all when she suddenly threw her arms around him.

“Thank you,” Zoe whispered into his neck. “I really needed to hear that today.”

Evan awkwardly patted her back until she let go. His eyes widened when he saw that Connor and Jared had joined them.

Jared stepped forward to rub Zoe’s back. He glanced up long enough to squint at Evan. “Hey... What’d you say to make my wife cry?”

“He knows,” Zoe whispered.

“He...” Jared nodded firmly. “We need to get back in there. My uncle Milo’s looking for us.”

“Okay,” Zoe said. She reached up to dab at her eyes. “Do I need to fix my makeup?”

“You look fine,” Jared said quickly. He glanced over his shoulder and mouthed the words ‘we’ll talk later’ at Evan.

“What was that about?” Connor asked as soon as they were gone.

“Jared wants to strategize with me.”

“About...” Connor’s mouth formed a thin line as he studied Evan’s expression. “She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“Uh...” Evan chuckled uncomfortably and stared at his shoes. Zoe hadn’t told him not to tell Connor and he hadn’t made that promise on his own, but...

“Blink twice if she is,” Connor ordered.

Evan sighed and blinked twice.

“I knew it!” Connor hissed. “She was taking Josh’s teasing way too seriously!”

“Let’s not talk about this here,” Evan muttered.

“Right,” Connor nodded. “They don’t want people to know yet?”

“Exactly.”

Connor shook his head. “We’re going to be uncles... I need a Shirley Temple.”

 

****

**XII**

Evan stared at the ceiling while he tried to catch his breath. He smiled at Connor when he snuggled up to him.

“Hi,” Connor whispered.

“Hi,” Evan parroted.

“We’re married.”

“I know.”

“Like married-married. Like legitimately married.”

“Really? You mean that wasn’t a pretend wedding?”

Connor playfully nipped his neck. “You’re hilarious.”

“I try,” Evan smirked.

They didn’t say anything for a minute. Evan hummed contentedly as Connor nuzzled his neck. His eyes flew open when Connor suddenly stopped.

“We’re going to be uncles,” Connor blurted out.

“Yeah...” Evan laughed.

“That means my parents are going to be grandparents.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” Connor grinned. “It means the pressure’s off. For us, that is. Zoe’s kid will keep them from pestering us about grandkids for at least five years.”

“You think they were going to-”

“My mom’s already started. She keeps sending me all these articles about surrogates and adoptions and...” Connor cringed at the thought. “I keep telling her we’re not ready for all that. That we couldn’t even keep your plant alive.”

“My plant?” Evan frowned. “What plant?”

“Your plant, you know, the one you brought home from work last year.”

“Oh,” Evan nodded slowly. “Right.”

“The one I killed when you went to Colorado to see your dad.” Connor hung his head sadly. “Poor Seymour. He never stood a chance.”

“You named the plant Seymour?” Evan asked incredulously. 

“I didn’t tell you that?” Connor’s face lit up excitedly. “I knew Asia was wrong! There _are_ still things we don’t know about each other.”

“Of course, there are,” Evan scoffed. He took a breath and leaned back against the headboard. “Since we’re sharing truths, I should tell you that Seymour is still alive.”

Connor bolted up to stare at him. “He is?”

“I took him back to the lab and Bernie helped me revive him.”

“You kidnapped our plant child?” 

“I didn’t know you thought of him as our plant child!” Evan hissed defensively. “I thought you saw him as... as an it. As an annoying chore I’d dumped in your lap while I went to see my dad.”

Connor exhaled dramatically. “Well, that settles it.”

“Settles what?”

“We’re getting a cat.”

“How does the fact that Seymour’s still alive mean we’re getting a cat?”

“Because it means I didn’t kill Seymour.”

“He didn’t exactly flourish under your care,” Evan pointed out.

Connor ignored that and went on, “It means we’re capable of keeping a living thing alive.”

“Well, of course we are,” Evan said softly. 

Connor looked at him knowingly. “If you say we’ve kept each other alive...”

Evan clenched his teeth and pushed back against the headboard again.

“I would’ve said that in my vows,” Connor admitted. “If we’d written our own, I would’ve said you’re one of the reasons I’m still alive. The main reason, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Me too,” Evan whispered. He slid back down until his head was resting on Connor’s shoulder.

He laughed and put a hand on his stomach when it growled unexpectedly. “Hey, where did we land on the whole bringing each other food in bed thing?”


End file.
